Elizabeth’s 116th birthday
“But Ruth said, ‘Do not press me to leave you or to turn back from following you! Where you go, I will go; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.’”—Ruth 1:16.
During Advent, we hear the story of Elizabeth and her family. Our family also has a unique Elizabeth. In August, we celebrated my mother-in-law’s 116th birthday. She was born in 1907 and died when she was 81. Our church tradition remembers people on the day of their death. However, our family still remembers those we love on their birthday. I think this is because we remember how we celebrated their birthdays, or maybe for some unknown reason, their love and presence seem closer on their birthday.
My daughter and our youngest granddaughter are named after her. Elizabeth taught school and second grade for over forty years. Her class was called Happy Town. I keep wondering if any of her thousands of students remember her. They do not know that August 30th is her birthday.
I tried to Google her to find out the exact day she died. But, unfortunately, I do not find her. There is no Google picture of her either. But my life was changed by knowing her, her acceptance of me from that first Christmas night, and her unconditional love for her grandchildren. So many saints like Elizabeth changed many people’s lives, but have become unknown.
When Elizabeth died, I remember asking her in my prayers to watch over our children like a guardian angel, and I promised I would care for her husband she so loved, Bob, who was left behind. But, unfortunately, Elizabeth did a much better job watching over our children than I cared for her Bob.
Whenever our children were gone from home, I would pray for Elizabeth to be with them. I truly know she was reminding them in some way that they were loved, keeping them out of harm’s way. I feel her presence today, telling me that all shall be well, all shall be well. I pray that others may remember and feel the Elizabeth Seibert who taught them about unconditional love in Happy Town.
